The invention relates generally to providing users with service providers in a field of service desired by the user. In particular, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for specifying and obtaining services through voice command, via a voice portal, resulting in a live conversation between a user and a selected service provider.
Consumers interested in acquiring services must first identify a service provider who is capable of providing the required services. At present, this usually means perusing a telephone directory, which can become frustrating and time-consuming if the service providers telephoned are not immediately available. In addition, a simple telephone call does not enable the service provider to charge a fee according to the time spent with his/her customers.
Systems now exist that enable providers of services to charge fees for the time spent delivering the service. 1-900 phone numbers will charge the seeker of services according to the time spent receiving the service and will transfer this payment, or a portion of it, to the provider.
Each 1-900 number, however, has a very narrow scopexe2x80x94xe2x80x9cHear your Horoscope,xe2x80x9d for instance. If a seeker would like to hear an entirely different servicexe2x80x94xe2x80x9cYour Local Weather,xe2x80x9d for instancexe2x80x94he/she would have to dial a completely different 1-900 number. Similarly, each 1-900 number is quite rigid in the price, quality, and specificity of its service.
However, current systems now exist that enable seekers to locate service providers according to a wide range of price, quality and specificity of service (U.S. application Ser. No. 09/414,710). Such systems also make it possible for the service provider and buyer to be connected and communicate in real time.
Such systems, however, require the service seeker to have a connection to the internet. The service seeker must also have the necessary computer hardware to browse the internet. Presently, there is no system available by which a service seeker can be matched to a wide array of service providers with specific skills using only a simple voice-transmission medium such as the telephone.
Therefore, there remains a need to overcome limitations in the above described existing art which is satisfied by the inventive structure and method described hereinafter.
The present invention overcomes the problems in the existing art described above by providing a method and apparatus for specifying and obtaining services through voice commands, via a voice portal, resulting in a live conversation between a user and a selected service provider. The present invention is a system through which seekers of a wide array of services can select, contact, converse, and pay for a service provider using a simple voice-transmission medium such as the telephone. The invention enables the seeker to locate a service provider by speaking the name of a profession, such as xe2x80x9cpsychiatrist,xe2x80x9d which is recognized by the system""s voice-recognition software. In a similar fashion, the seeker can then specify by speaking aloud the price range, quality rating, language, and keyword descriptors of the service provider. Within the desired parameters, the system offers service providers who have made themselves available to render services at the present time. Once the appropriate available service provider is selected, the system connects the service seeker with the service provider for a live conversation. The system automatically bills the seeker for the time spent conversing with the service provider and compensates the service provider accordingly.
Advantages of the invention include providing users with the capability to engage in a live conversation with a selected service provider via a telephone. Contrary to prior systems, requiring an internet connection and browser to receive such services, the equivalent is now provided by a simple voice transmission medium such as the telephone. As a result, virtually anyone can benefit from the capabilities provided by the present invention. The system also allows providers of a field of service to be compensated for supplying their expertise to a user.